Freedom. (bxb, shifter)

Chapter 10

a/n; hey everyone, its my birthday tomorrow so here is a little present form me to you!! another little chapter I hope you're all enjoying this, let me know!!

Rykers POV.

What had he said? Silas? I looked at my bear as he seemed to be processing some big emotions after scaring the living shit out of me by becoming unconscious once more. This man was going to put greys in my head if I wasn't careful.

"Silas?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

Bear seemed to stare at me with eyes swirling with confusion and fear. I placed one of my large hands on his small pale leg to offer him some comfort and that seemed to settle him slightly.

"My name is Silas," he whispered again. I was going to need more information than that but maybe now wasn't exactly the time for that so for now i would drop it.

"Okay Silas, are you hungry? Would you like to go get some food? The pack is out on a run since we are drawing closer to the full moon but we have some deer that were caught the other day if you would like some."

He seemed to ponder my words before nodding and starting to wriggle around. I had not thought this through properly how would he be able to walk down there, he won't know how to use his legs quite yet.

"I'm going to help you stand if that's okay, can i touch you?" I was still not reaching for him until he nodded at me and only then did I place my hands under his armpits and lift him up. On his shaky legs he looked like a fresh baby deer and it was adorable.

I was still shocked by how very little he weighed. All other bear shifters I had met were big and walls full of muscle. But Silas? He was little, coming only to my chin although I was tall because of my alpha genes, and I could count his ribs nearly through his skin.

He seemed to wobble for a few minutes before finding his balance whilst relying heavily on my arms to hold him. My wolf was preening. As an alpha it is our job to help our pack mates but this was deeper than that, i strongly believe this little bear was my mate who i had been searching for.

Six years was a long time for an alpha to lead without finding his mate but I just had never felt the pull before. I had been witness to many of my pack mates and ally packs whether by chance or through the full moon meetings we held several times a year.

As I looked down at Silas he was staring up at me just watching. I guess I had zoned out and a light blush raised to my cheeks. "Right, first we should head to my room to get you at least a shirt. I can't imagine you're very comfortable with no clothes haha."

I hadn't looked down at his privates for his comfortability. Nakedness was nothing to a pack though. When shifting it was common to strip and many of the pack children were on the wilder side but still. He had probably never been in pack life, bears aren't known to travel in packs in the wild nor in the shifter world.

We began the very very slow walk down the hall with him leaning on me and me half lifting him down the plush carpet that he seemed to marvel at. Once making it to my office I sat him down in the plush armchair and quickly made it to the wooden wardrobe I kept in the room.

I held out three shirts for him to pick from, all black a singlet, a t-shirt and a long sleeved shirt. Each would be huge on him but somewhere in my primitive brain I wanted him to smell like me.

"Which would you like?" I asked turning back to him, he blushed having been caught looking at me and turned away slightly. My wolf was standing tall in my mind at being admired by a man he felt something for.

He pointed at the long sleeve shirt, I put the others away and walked back over to him, "Arms up," he raised his arms over his head. I eased the shirt onto him and it fell to just above his knees and fell off one of his shoulders. He looked fucking adorable it was hard to not tell him so but i didnt want to freak him out anymore.

After finding the right shirt we made the trip to the kitchen, lucky that it was on this level of the packhouse, I don't think we would have made it up or down the stairs to the higher level.

I had sent a message to the pack link to inform me when they were on the return so that we wouldn't have any accidental meetings today. Jacobi had promptly responded that the pack were still far off and the ones that were still at the pack house were under instruction to not come to this level until given the all clear.

I set Silas up on the bench seat so he could watch what I was doing and not be concerned but instead he just stared out the large window that overlooked the snow swept forest that the house bordered on.

"Would you like to eat outside?" quickly he nodded and smiled at me. My heart beat spiked.

I quickly made us a venison sandwich each, with some lettuce, carrot and a sauce. I carried the plates out to the deck first before helping Silas out and onto the deck seating area. He breathed deeply and instantly relaxed. It was amazing how soothing the sounds and smell of the forest seemed to be for him. It must feel just like home.

We ate our sandwiches in comfortable silence sitting and watching the world go by in each other's company.

"Does it feel good to be outside again?" I asked.

He nodded "Home." was his response. The wind was rustling his hair and he seemed to melt into the seat with each passing second.

"When you get a bit stronger I can take you into the woods if you would like? Of course we will have to work on your walking first. If we can get your shift under control, we could even go for a run if you would want to?"

His smile grew more and more with each word until he was nodding furiously. I laughed at his antics and leaned over to ruffle his hair.

"Forest is home." Silas said, his voice soft but still held a deepness to it that was pleasing to hear.

"I'll make sure to bring you outside more, we will have to get you accustomed to the pack though because they will be around as well. This is also their home." I saw him gulp and his eyes darted around. "Don't worry Silas, everyone in the pack is lovely and no one is going to bother you or hurt you. The children might ask you a bunch of questions because we've never had a bear in the pack before but I will do my best to keep them at bay as much as I can."

"Okay."

"Okay? Okay you'll meet the pack?" I was shocked he was so willing this quickly but also proud of him for not letting his anxiety get in the way of expanding his experiences.

"I'll meet some, you-you'll be there right?" he stuttered, staring at me with his huge brown eyes and long lashes. Be still my beating heart this man was too pretty for his own good.

"Of course I'll be there, I'll always be there if you need me Silas."

I never realised how true those words were. I would always be there to help Silas no matter what.